Why our dear doomed attempts to be well need revising, and how nourishing our spirits while Staying, Loving, Opening and Wondering are the strategies that actually bring wellbeing by clearing the dust away.

Mindfulness of the body is absolutely fundamental for our practice and was for the Buddha, both a starting point and an end point. We explore (1) why mindfulness of the body is crucial both in the Buddha's teaching and especially in our highly mental culture; (2) how we practice mindfulness of breathing and mindfulness of postures and activities; and (3) how mindfulness of the body works to transform us.

Our practice invites us to return to the present moment - yet in order to be here, we must let go of everything and enter this moment unburdened. Are we willing? If so, we will discover our true refuge - that which is utterly reliable.

How the first two Noble Truths describe Samsara and the circular chain of Dependent origination, and how the third and fourth Truths have been expanded to form Transcendental dependent arising, which beautiful topics will be further explored during this month - long retreat.

The Buddha teaches both about the cycle of suffering and another cycle leading to liberation. When we willingly encounter our suffering directly, conviction arises and leads us deeper into our practice.

Delight (or joy or gladness, pamojja) is the second factor that emerges as we shift away from repetitive cycles of suffering. We explore how delight manifests as delight in practice, in our integrity, the "bliss of blamelessness," and in other ways. We also look at how to cultivate delight, how delight or joy support the deepening of our practice, and what makes delight difficult to access.

Using the Seven Factors of Awakening as a template, mirroring our progressive theme this month, exploring the dance between the active and the passive practices. Focusing on the shift from energy to rapture to serenity , and sweetness, and especially seeing how that shift is so effectively ushered in by more reflections and practices which uplift the heart.

A continuation of the series on transcendental dependent origination-the beginnings of insight.

We explore how "knowledge and vision of things as they are," supported by concentration and earlier factors, brings us insight into impermanence, suffering and the roots of suffering, and not-self. We examine some of the forces and structure that lead to delusion and a lack of clear seeing, as well as how to practice to cultivate these insights.

Realizing clearly that things don't bring lasting satisfaction, we become disenchanted with reaching out to things; the energy that was bound up with clinging is there, released towards liberation.

Heart practices and wisdom practices can appear to speak different languages and have different aims; for example, lovingkindness wishes well whereas equanimity says, "no matter what I wish for, things are as they are." We explore how the heart and wisdom connect through exploring (1) lovingkindness, (2) equanimity, and (3) how the two inform each other and are integrated.

To integrate our practice, we need to keep applying the wisdom of our insights we gain from our sitting practice, retreats, and life experience. In this way, we come to terms with the different aspects of our personality, the aaspects we like and don't like.

This talk explores our humanity/vulnerability and don't know.